Eon by Greg Bear
01/09/2002 . Source: Lucy A.E. Ward 
Pub: Gollancz (SF Masterworks). 512 page paperback new edition. Price: £6.99 (UK). ISBN: 0575073160. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. Check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
More than anything else, this book is a
mystery. The plot is slick and fast-moving, with plenty of tech
and social concepts for a hard core SF fan to appreciate.
 The
story revolves around a vast object - The Stone - that enters the
solar system and settles into a stable orbit. After investigation,
evidence of previous habitation is discovered inside it and Earth's
politics are thrown into disarray by the quest to unravel its secrets.
The central character is Patricia Luisa Vasquez, but she is set
amongst a unique and fully realised cast of scientists, bureaucrats,
soldiers, and 'boojums'. She is a brilliant mathematician who was
once told by a Stanford math professor that 'the only beings who
would ever fully appreciate her work would be gods or extra-terrestials'
and from the outset she plays a pivotal role to the action.
Her almost inhuman capability to understand and calculate complex
data places her at the pinnacle of discovery work upon The Stone.
She is a suitably troubled heroine as she realises that fate of
all life on Earth might depend upon her calculations... ‘Each
day, then, was a victory with reality showing her how wrong she
could be.’
I haven't read anything with such a clarity and depth of vision
since Frank Herbert's 'Dune'. The pressure and enigma of The Stone
increases the more you learn about its construction and purpose.
Every time it appears as though a solution might be found, another
problem presents itself - bigger, nastier and a whole lot more difficult
to comprehend and unravel. I found myself enjoying the occasional
info-dump breaks as much as the characters - there are actually
chunks of books within the book- because they give you glimpses
at the enormous architecture of the Universe that Greg Bear has
so masterfully crafted.
There is a balanced polarity between plot and character, too. As
the focus on the Universe expands beyond dimensional recognition,
the focus on the characters draws closer and begins to scrutinise
what exactly it means to be 'human'. There are lies, betrayals,
nervous breakdowns and suicides.
There is also love, honesty, victory and a whole heap of concepts
about existence. At the beginning of the novel, I couldn't imagine
how Vasquez - a woman savouring the warmth of her parent's living
room, with its aluminium Christmas tree, heavy beams, and gas fire
- would eventually end up in environments so different to Earth
but Bear's easy style makes even the greatest marvels seem credible.
‘Like a blowtorch describing an arc in the sky, a meteor plummeted
towards the distant sea’s surface. Before it struck, a web of pulsed
orange rays lanced out from the horizon and shattered the meteor.
More beams sought out and destroyed the crazily weaving fragments.
Only dust remained to hit the ocean or land.’
One of my favourite aspects of 'Eon' is its brittle Cold War atmosphere
- perfectly appropriate for the 1985 original release date and still
a convincing representation of East-West tensions.
Mirsky, Russian soldier and cosmonaut, offers a respectful if not
entirely sympathetic insight into former-Soviet-Republic mentality.
Lanier gives us an equally balanced view of a dutiful US official,
determined to accompany his charge 'to the very last'.
The paradoxical existence of a contemporary communist Soviet Union
is easily excused by alternate history theories discussed on the
pages, too - a perfect and possibly unplanned tactic that should
prevent this book from seeming outdated for a long time.
It is a truly great book and I definitely recommend it. The characters
describe it as being like a 'Wonderland', 'lost in a Boschian nightmare',
'a ride in Disneyland' or 'a fairy tale.' It is all of these things
and much more.
Read it and enjoy the exploration!
Lucy A.E. Ward
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